Chandigarh, Dec 17 (IANS): Vani Kapoor and Aditi Ashok qualified for the final of the Usha All India Ladies Amateur Matchplay golf championships with comprehensive wins in their semi-finals at the Chandigarh Golf Club Saturday.
The 17-year-old Vani was in particularly great form and played with a lot of maturity to run away a 6 and 4 winner against Ankita Kedlaya, while the 13-year-old Aditi beat Millie Saroha 3 and 2.
The two teammates from the Usha Queen Sirikit Cup are vying for their All India Ladies title, the biggest crown in Ladies amateur golf in the country.
Vani, who is leading the IGU Ladies Order of Merit, dominated the front nine and by the turn she was five-up. During this stretch she made just one birdie but kept her nose ahead with no frills.
Ankita tried to prolong the match as she pulled one back on the 10th but Vani quickly won the 11th to once again go five-up. Ankita once again fought back to win the 12th. Then Vani quickly closed the match, winning 13th and 14th holes with pars as her rival bogeyed. That saw Vani go six-up with four holes left to finish the match.
Aditi had two birdies, but Millie also stayed in the game as both players were all square at the turn after the ninth. Then Aditi forged ahead as she won the 10th, 15th and 16th holes with pars on all three to win the match 3-up with 2 holes to go.
A win here, the flagship event on the women's amateur calendar, will emphatically seal the Order of Merit for Vani, who has been very consistent and successful this year. She has twice won the amateur circuit and also grabbed a title on the pro circuit while still being an amateur.
Aditi has found success in her age group and like Vani has won a tournament against pros. She also won the Malaysian Open junior title.
Usha are supporting the four regional events, Southern India, the Northern India, Western and Eastern India and the All India Amateur events on the IGU Ladies circuit.
The All India Amateur Ladies golf dates back to 1906 and it is now more than 100 years old, though the event was not held a few times in the 1940s.
In the Vikramaditya Trophy, Anjali Nagpal beat Bela Phadke on the 13th hole and Kainaat Singh beat Aashna Monga on the 18th.